Chancing it: The Laws of chance and How They Can Work for You
Robert Matthews
ISBN 10: 1781250308 ISBN 13: 9781781250303
Published by Profile Books Ltd, 2016
Used
Hardcover
From
ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since 24 March 2009
This specific item is no longer available.
About this Item
Description:
Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1781250308I5N00
Synopsis:
Chance, risk, uncertainty: they're all part of our lives, whether we're in business or on the school run, deciding future strategy or just the best route home. Sometimes their effects are intriguing: a streak of extraordinary luck, say, or some bizarre coincidence. More often they just leave us confused, unnerved - even anxious. When is a series of odd events mere happenstance, or something more significant? How do we make sense of the ever-changing evidence about what's good or bad for us? Just how reliable are predictions of weather, climate and elections - and how should we respond to them?
In this book, award-winning scientist and writer Robert Matthews shows how we can cut through such conundrums using some of the most potent intellectual tools ever developed: the laws of probability. Using real-life examples, he shows how to wield them to:
Understand and even predict coincidences
Tell when insurance policies are worth having
Make sense of medical tests and scientific 'breakthroughs'
Judge when "expert" evidence is compelling or questionable
Make decisions about everything from sports betting to weather forecasts
Professor Matthews also gives a groundbreaking introduction to the power of Bayes's Theorem, whose ability to turn evidence into insight is now transforming our lives - and helping to unmask a major scientific scandal.
About the Author: Robert Matthews is a Visiting Professor at Aston University, specialising in the mathematics of chance and uncertainty. His research on issues ranging from the prediction of coincidences to methods for turning evidence into insight has been published in many leading journals, including Nature and The Lancet. He is also an award-winning science writer, Science Consultant to BBC Focus and a former specialist correspondent with The Times and Sunday Telegraph. www.robertmatthews.org
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Bibliographic Details
Title: Chancing it: The Laws of chance and How They...
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2016
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fair
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket